Whenever I consider buying something, I always want to know everything upfront, whether it’s with price, possible defects, warranties, insurance coverage, and yes, even life span. I don’t want to go through the hassle of having to go back within 30 days after buying an item to return it because there were things I didn’t know about it.
If you give everything to me flat out, I can make a more informed decision and whatever happens, I will accept the consequences should I continue with the purchase. What has this got to do with real estate? Everything.
Eric Rollo, one of Realtor’s 30 under 30 speaks up on how people should deal with clients.
In real estate, just like in other industries, customers want to be informed before purchasing anything. That’s why Rollo makes it a point to disclose everything to his customers, and I agree.
Customers should know what they’re getting themselves into, especially those who are purchasing houses and plan to stay there for a long time. Real estate is an investment, and like every other investment, people need to study it before making any decisions that will affect them in the long run. Rollo calls this being real with your clients.
During our short but very informative interview, Rollo also brought up the three “l’s” of real estate — the first of which is listings.
Listings
Who can survive without listings? This is where we generate income. If you have listings, make sure that you also have presence and support because when customers contact you about those listings, they want to feel like they’re the only people that matter.
Leads
The second “l” is leads. Where listings are our basic source of income, leads are the source of potential buyers. Like you and me, every customer will want to feel valued and prioritized, and this will make all the difference in the world. How you treat your customers will eventually pay off (or not) when the time to make a decision comes.
Leverage
The final “l” is leverage. People will always ask you the big question. I use this acronym: WIIFM. What’s in it for me? It’s like the customers’ way of asking, “Why should I be buying that? Why should I be buying it from you?”
If it comes to this, your presentation wasn’t good enough. You were not able to tease the customer enough to make him or her consider buying. You were not able to entice effectively.
If you had, he or she wouldn’t be asking these questions. But if he or she does ask these questions, consider it an opportunity to redeem yourself.
Leverage your property. Leverage yourself. What do you have that other agents do not? What can you do that other agents cannot? Why is buying from you beneficial for them? Do not push yourself up by striking others down as customers will see this in an instant and will not work to your favor.
Highlight your pros and downplay your cons, but always keep the customer in the loop. If needed, accept your opportunities and shortcomings, and emphasize what you are doing to address those. Always be honest with your customers. You will be amazed at how many value honesty.
Other tips from Rollo
Rollo also brought up an interesting point. Although we know that we have to establish ourselves as an expert when it comes to real estate or basically, every other industry, Rollo goes as far as to use anecdotal stories to connect to customers and entice them into buying from him.
It makes the interaction more personal. Customers can then identify with him on a level that they are comfortable with. Then when you think that you already have a good deal and your clients are listening and interested, make sure that you market properly some more. Everyone wants what everybody else desires. Also, make sure that you don’t get greedy. Price correctly.
Since joining William Raveis Real Estate, Rollo has consistently been one of the top-producing agents in the Boston offices and is known for his personal attention to clients and the innovative social media marketing he employs to generate new business and market listings.
As they always say, work smarter, not harder. Life is hard enough as it is, and with the competitive nature of everyone else, you have to know how to get ahead, when to run, where to stop and how to get up.
In a world where a lot of people are racing to the top, you have to prepare for sharp turns and rough edges.
Please click here to listen to the full interview.
Pat Hiban is the author of NYT best selling book “6 steps to 7 figures – A Real Estate Professional’s Guide to Building Wealth and Creating Your Destiny” and the Host of Pat Hiban Interviews Real Estate Rockstars an Agent to Agent Real Estate Radio Podcast with Hiban Digital. Follow him on Instagram or Twitter.